Boxing glove



April 12, 1949. J. P. CORBETT 2,466,793

BOXING GLOVE Filed NOV. 21, 1945 1N VEN TOR. n 26025577;

Arrokzgx Patented Apr. 12, 1949 UNITED STATES e TENT F F ICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to boxing gloves, and has for an object the provision of a boxing glove padded-with a novel and highly efdcient cushioning material capable of affording ample protection, both to the hand on which it is worn and to the opponent of the boxer Wearing the glove.

One of the disadvantages of the conventional, hair-padded boxing glove is that its stufiing is subject to packing and wedding, thus making the padding lumpy and unevenly distributed within its covering envelope. It has frequently been the practice of unscrupulous boxers to take advantage of this characteristic of hair padding, tothe extent of using one hand to bend the glove worn on the other hand tightly around the knuckles 0f the fist clenched within the glove, and by working the padding while the glove is thus tightly stretched and bent so as to cause the strands of hair to separate at. the area Where the glove is stretched around the knuckles. In this manner, the relatively large quantity of the hair padding intended to afford protection to the boxers opponent by covering, the striking por tions of the fist with cusioning of ample thickness, can be caused to move to the ends of the glove, thus leaving; the knuckles covered by little or no more than the leather defining the envelope portion of the glove, and making it easier for the boxer to inflict injury upon his opponent in an unfair manner not easily detected.

It' is a more detailed object of the present invention to overcome this disadvantage inherent in hair-padded boxing gloves by providing a stufiing or padding material which owes its quality of resiliency more to the inherent compressibility of the material of which it is composed than to the type of flexibility which manifests itself in lateral bending, as in the case of the individual hairs defining a mass of hair padding.

Previous attempts at overcoming the hereina'bove described inherent disadvantage of hairstuffed boxing gloves include that of forming the pad as a single, shaped piece of sponge rubher, but here again it was found that when the glove is flexed by forming the hand within the glove into a tightly clenched fist, the piece of rubber is stretched so tightly over the knuckles that it is deprived of substantially all of its cushioning quality, with the result that a glove so padded would afford much protection to the hand on which it is Worn, but would become so hard when the boxers fist was tightly clenched therein that he could inflict even more punishment upon his opponent than with his bare fist. It is a further object of the present invention,

therefore, to provide cushioning material forboxing gloves which is in the form of chunks, or

tion as I may adopt variations of the preferred" form within the scope of my invention as defined in the claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure l is a perspective view of a boxing gloveconstructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view taken upon the line Z2 of Figure 1 with the direction of view as indicated.

Figure 3 is an enlarged, detail view in perspective showing one of the fragments which comprise the mass of cushioning material within the boxing glove of Figures 1 and 2.

The present invention contemplates the provision of a boxing glove 6 ofstandard shape,.size, and weight and differing in no material respects as far as external appearances are concerned from conventional boxing gloves now in common use. Accordingly, portion I mounted upon the back of a hand-receiving or mit portion 8 adapted to be anchored securely upon the users hand as by lac-ings 9 adapted to draw together the. edges ll of an opening !2 in the front or palm portion of the mit 8.

Also in accordance with conventional practice, the boxing glove 6 includes a padded wrist-protecting cuff I 3, and a thumb compartment M, the back of which is provided with padding l6 which extends beyond and around the outer end of the thumb compartment M.

The pad portion 1 comprises a covering envelope Zl and suitable flexible material, preferably a relatively soft leather. It is secured as by stitching 22 to the lateral edges 23 and 24 of the mit 8 so that it completely encloses the back 26 of the mit. Preferably, the pad portion 1 is materially longer and wider than the mit 8 so that it extends beyond both the outer end 21 of the mit and its lateral edges 23 and 24, as clearly fOllOWillg descripembodiment of my inventhe glove 6, possesses a pad which I have found most suitable for the purpose of the present invention being that form of cellular latex foam sponge rubber, known in commerce as Airfoam rubber. This material, which can be purchased in sheet form upon the open market, is reduced to particle sizes of approximately one-fourth inch; and in so forming the particles, rather than use a cutting process which would yield chunks of substantially cubicle or other rectangular forms, I prefer to use a tearing or crumbling process so as to yield fragments the exterior surfaces of which are generally substantially fiat, as clearly indicated in Figures 2 and 3, and yet of highly irregular shapeand varying sizes. Particles 33 of such form, by experimentation, have been found to develop a mass 32 of packing possessed of a far greater degree of cushioning characteristics than a solid sheet of Airfoam rubber, or even a mass of particles of such material, wherein the particles are of regular and rectangular form.

Being in the nature of chunks or fragments instead of being in strands such as the hair used in ordinary hair padding, these chunks 33 are not subjectr to being pulled apart by working the outer surfaces of the covering 2| of the glove 5. Moreover, I add to the tendency for the particles 33 to remain immobilized in the leather cover 2! by packing the particles so tightly within the cover 2| that, not only does the pad I remain in shape even when subjected to relatively hard usage, but also the particles are prevented from moving about within the pad I. In spite of this relatively tight manner in which the particles 33 are packed or stuffed into the cover 2!, the irregular configuration of the particles and the diversity of their sizes which is an inevitable result of their being produced from sponge rubber in sheet form by the tearing or crumbling process to which reference has been made, necessarily results in the presence of a large number of voids between particles, which adds materially to the resiliency of the padding material considered as an entirety. The substantially fiat nature of most of the exterior surfaces of the particles is also an important matter inasmuch as it minimizes the tendency for one particle to Wedge itself in between two or more of the immediately neighboring particles, as difierentiated from the tendency which would be developed by spherical particles or particles having other types of rounded exterior surfaces-hence, the fiat-sided particles are not permitted free movement with respect to each other within the body of the padding material. Rather are they substantially immobilized, thus assuring that the padding material will retain its original form even when the glove is subjected to severe usage, or even to the deliberate attempts of an unscrupulous boxer to work the padding aside from its areas covering his knuckles.

Thus it may be seen that I have provided a packing material for boxing gloves which afi'ords ample protection, both to the fist upon which the glove is worn, and also to the opponent, inasmuch as the packing remains in the position which it takes when the glove is originally fabricated in spite of any effort of the person wearing the glove to move the padding 32 around within its covering envelope 2|.

I claim:

1. In a boxing glove, a pad portion and means for securing said pad portion to the hand in position to over-lie the fist, said pad portion comprising a covering of flexible material and padding comprising substantially flat-sided chunks of resilient cellular material within said covering.

In a boxing glove, a pad portion and means for securing said pad portion to the hand in position to overlie the fist, said pad portion comprising a covering of flexible material and padding comprising substantially flat-sided chunks of resilient cellular material packed into said coveringsumciently tightly substantially to retain said chunks immobilized.

3. In a boxing glove, a pad portion and means for securing said pad portion to the hand in position to overlie the fist, said pad portion comprising a covering of flexible material and padding comprising substantially fiat-sided fragments of irregular form of latex foam sponge rubber within said covering.

4. In a boxing glove, a pad portion and means for securing said pad portion to the hand in position to overlie the fist, said pad portion comprising a covering of flexible material and padding comprising substantially flat-sided fragments of irregular form of latex foam sponge rubber packed into said covering sufficiently tightly substantially to retain said fragments immobilized.

JOHN P. CORBETI.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Oldham Dec. 3, 1918 Number 

